
One of the great pleasures of autumn is its colorful aesthetics. The phenomenon in which normally green leaves transition into shades of red, orange, yellow and eventually brown is known officially as "leaf phenology," which some people eagerly anticipate each year. But like many ways in which climate change is radically altering our weather patterns — from blistering heat waves to sea level-induced floods — autumn itself is changing.
According to a study published earlier this year in the journal PLOS One, the season length is growing, meaning that it is taking longer for leaves to change their colors. And this is not the only way in which climate change is messing with the season so many of us love.